Recipe: Baked Macaroni with Tomato Sauce and Goat Cheese {eat.live.be}

Guys, its that time of the month. Again. Ugh. Heres what we have to look forward to. One whole week of.... Irrational irritability. Allodynia. (Increased sensitivity to pain.) Glycogen retention. A compulsion to eat carbs, carbs, and, uh. More carbs. All day. Every day. Ever. And anon. Fun. So much fun. Not. Wait, what? Its not that that time of the month! (I havent quite reached that level of oversharing. Yet.) Oh, no no no. Its much worse than that. Its taper week. And if theres one thing you learn as a runner, its that taper week makes PMS week look like a a day at Disney World. With no lines. And free food. And Patrick Dempsey as your own personal theme park tour guide. Because if theres one thing that any runner hates...its being told not to run, especially when you know that you have to race in seven days and really you just want to make sure that your muscles will remember to work for 13.1 miles. ...they can be so forgetful. But instead of doing something irrational like running 10 miles the Wednesday before your Saturday race, you just have to remind yourself that your 11 mile run on Saturday was a dream. You ran at an 8:50 pace and it felt easy. You highly suspect that this might have something to do with the fact that you havent singlehandedly tried to finish off a jar of peanut butter in over two weeks. Its crazy the things that happen when you treat your body well. You might actually feel, well. Good. Confident. Ready to take on the world...or at least 13.1 miles of Brooklyn. So instead of turning into a psycho compulsive runner who decides that she is above tapering. You eat your pasta. And you rest your muscles (a little). And you like it. And really...theres nothing not to like about this pasta. Imagine baked ziti but infused with goat cheese instead of mozzarella. And stuffed with more kale/swiss chard/spinach by weight than actual noodles. Yeah...its pretty much a dream. In an 8x8-inch pan. What more could you ask for. Baked Macaroni with Tomato Sauce and Goat Cheese Serves 4, adapted from the New York Times Ingredients 1/2 lb whole wheat fusilli or other small pasta 2 tbsp olive oil 2 large garlic cloves, minced 28 oz canned diced tomatoes 1/8 tsp sugar salt, to taste 1/4 cup basil leaves, whole freshly ground black pepper, to taste 4 oz soft goat cheese 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 11 oz mixed greens (I used this blend) 1/2 cup breadcrumbs Instructions Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, wide skillet. Add the garlic. Cook 30 seconds, stirring, or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and basil to the pan. Stir, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil. When it begins to bubble, lower the heat back to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until thick and fragrant. Add freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the goat cheese and parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings. Preheat the oven to 350. When the water for the pasta starts to boil, add the pasta and cook it for a minute or two less than the package instructions say since it will cook more in the oven. In the last two minutes, add the mixed greens. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the tomato-goat cheese sauce to the bowl and combine thoroughly. Transfer to an 8x8-inch baking pan or a 2 qt baking dish. Toss the breadcrumbs with the remaining tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Bake until casserole is bubbly and breadcrumbs are lightly brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights which is being hosted this week by Alisha of Cook.Craft.Enjoy You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at http://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.